Focusing at x12 zoom with FZ20

[sunstorage]

I have the folowing problem when I try to focus on close object (2-3 meters) and using the 12 zoom (the shutter speed was 1/200s). It seams that the camera can not focus at the subject when I use mode 2 of the IOS because I shake it too much and the subject is too close. Will the focusing will be more correct if I use mode 1? At this zoom and object distance DOF is only 0.1 meters and a small "mistake" in the Auto focus if fatal.

Sorry for my bad english

[genece]

To focus closer than 2 meters at 12X zoom you need a closeup lens like a 6T or similar lens....you can get much closer in macro mode if you do not zoom. (4cm)



It has nothing to do with the OIS.

[sunstorage]

genece wrote:

To focus closer than 2 meters at 12X zoom you need a closeup lens like a 6T or similar lens....you can get much closer in macro mode if you do not zoom. (4cm)



It has nothing to do with the OIS.

10x for you answer but the object is far from 2 meter (maybe 2.5 - 3) but the camera was unable to focus (it indicates a "good" focus but the image was blury) becaus I shake the camera too much. Because the mode 1 works not only when you shoot the image maybe it will help when focusing on the object (to give more stable image while the camera "searching" for a good focus.

[genece]

Mode 2 should work the best but some others do not agree.....Move farther away just to make sure you are not too close. And do it in good light until you get familiar with the camera.

It is most likely that the light is low and the shutterspeed is very slow...OIS can only do so much...turn on some lights or use the flash.

If the camera indicated a focus it most likely was focused, and you were shaking too much.

[squirl033]

i use only OIS mode 2. if you're shooting at 1/200 with OIS on, that should be enough to give you a sharp picture. but if your shutter speed isbetween 1/60 and 1/250, or if youjust have shaky hands,i'd recommend some kind of steadying device, whether a tripod or monopod, or just bracing the camera on something solid.with shutter speedsless than about 1/40 to 1/60 sec at 10-12x, even with OIS, you will get some blurring, so you definitely need a tripod for those slow-speed shots.

focal distance may also play a part, as others have said. the FZ20 won't focus closer than about 2m/6 feet at 12x zoom, but it sounds like you're beyond that minimum distance...

[sunstorage]

10x squirl for your answer
I was wonderring is mode 2 better than mode 1 in the case I have. I know that mode 2 is better than 1 when the picture is taken. But I susppect that the problem with the blurry picture I have is because that the cammera is focussing on some other subject (I use a spot mode and because the cammera is shaken during the focusing I it focussed on different subject).
As I sad the parametrs of the picture I have are the following
F4, ISO 80, 1/200s, Spot focus, distance is about 3 meters
and here is the problematic picture

Sorry for my bad english

[sunstorage]

and here is a 100% crop
Maybe I expect too much from the camera but I have seen a much better bird shots with FZ30. Is the differense between 20 and 30 so big?

[squirl033]

these aren't as bad as i'd thought from what you were saying. it does appear that the camera might have been having dificulty determining exactly what you were trying to focus on (presumably the first of the two birds), and certainly the dull lighting wasn't helping with shutter speed. in cases like this, where achieving a good focus is difficult because there are too many possible 'targets' for the camera to lock onto, you might also consider using the '1-area' focusing mode. also, remember that at such close range (2-3m), and especially at 10-12x zoom, your depth of field is going to be very shallow... perhaps no more than a few centimeters. that alone will make the whole image look a bit soft, especially if your spot focus happened to lock onto the wrong part of the scene. for this shot, try the 1-area focusing mode, keep your aperture as small as possible to increase DOF, and use a tripod if you have to in order to avoid camera shake.

here's a pic i shot under similiar circumstances - close range (~ 3-4m), maximum zoom, poor light. i managed only 1/50 second shutter speed at f2.8 and ISO200 for this shot, and you can see the shallow depth of field. with good light (or a cooperative bird and a tripod) i could probably have gotten a sharper image and much greater DOF, but with cloudy skies and poor light, it's extremely difficult to get nice, sharp shots at full zoom, even with OIS!

[genece]

I downloaded the crop and Focus magic says the birf in front was 1 pixel out of focus,

Which a lot of photos are 1 pixel out ,thats not bad at all.

I do not like multipattern metering and in this case it cased an overexposure, which again was not bad but I let focus magic correct the 1 pixel focus and I adjusteded the exposure....which I think helped the photo.

Sharpening may have helped also but I did not do that...

[mtngal]

What is Focus magic? I gather it's some type of software? Sounds really interesting, especially if it can correct slight focus problems like this (I thought the focus not that bad in the original, but the second version is really nice).